New Coupe Owner from the Midlands - Sorry for the long first post

[abz2005]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd introduce myself as another new coupe owner, I'm Abz from Birmingham, well just outside Birmingham....well Black Country actually so not a brummy lol. To be honest I didn't realise there was a forum for the Accord Coupe in the UK until I stumbled across this site, and how glad I am that I did.

I picked up my coupe 2 weeks ago this Saturday and I just have to say how happy I am with it.  The story of how I bought it goes like this:

A lady in Bournemouth had it advertised on ebay as a runner but spares or repairs as she had taken it to a Honda dealer that said it needed £2000 worth of repairs so they decided it was time to replace the car and bought another Accord and advertised the one I bought on ebay. Her description was very vague and the pictured weren't great either.  I put it on my watch list and did a few checks, it only had 2 owners from new, 132k which was verified by the mot history, it hadn't ever failed on anything very serious in the previous 6 years either, my plan was if it went cheap enough I would put a cheeky bid in. Anyway I forgot about the auction and it finished without me bidding, gutted to say the least but hey ho one of those things, but on the off chance I checked the bidding history and noticed the winner had zero feedback so I fired off a message to the seller asking them to get in touch if the winner lets them down I'll pay £150 for the car, then put the car to the back of my mind.  2 weeks later I get a message from the seller saying if I want the car I can have it for £150. Not a great deal of money to lose if it's a nail I thought so I went to pick it up on a recovery truck, I got there and didn't even start it or anything just gave the lady the money signed the paperwork and off I went.  Got it home put 2 tyres on the front new windscreen wipers took it for an MOT and it passed with flying colours, the MOT tester asked if I wanted to sell it lol. The "major" faults that Honda had failed it on weren't even mentioned as advisories on the MOT I had done.   Now the body work isn't great the laquer has peeled on the roof and could do with a good mop and touch up here and there, but it's an 18 year old car for £150 so shouldn't complain too much.

So anyway the previous owner told me the book packs were in the boot, after the MOT I had a look through the book packs and found the service history book a fully stamped from book by Honda from new but no receipts to back this up, I rang the Honda dealer, they told me the car has been serviced every year by them from new with the last service carried out April this year. Chuffed? I bloomin' was.

Now I've had many many cars in the past everything from an old G reg Escort to S class Mercs, but I've never enjoyed driving a car as much as I've enjoyed driving this one I will find any excuse to go out for a drive, I've never done this but a couple of days after I bought it I couldn't fall to sleep so just went for a drive in the middle of the night, I'll use my car instead of the works van if I have to pop out for work, to be honest I wouldn't mind going for a drive right this second, I absolutely love it to bits.

There are a few jobs that need doing which are as follows:

New Wheels (hopefully thats tomorrows job)

Gearbox oil change

Cambelt change

New stereo

I would like to lower the car on coilovers but the only ones I can find are over £1000

Roof refinished as laquer has peeled, and generally give the body a good spit and polish.

 

The car itself is a purple Accord 2.0 auto but it has the kit with the front and rear bumper aprons, side skirts and boot spoiler and to finish it off has the gold badges and cream leather interior which really sets the car off, I will post pictures up as soon as I get the wheels on tomorrow.

 

Sorry for the long first post 

Cheers

Abz

[hughezee]

Welcome to the club Abz, sounds like you landed a good deal, also a couple of members have had there roof wrapped don't think you would notice the black roof on a purple car so maybe worth considering?

[abz2005]

Hi Hughezee

Thanks for the welcome and reply, I got a quote from a local body shop I've used in the past for the roof and he mentioned having it carbon wrapped which I didn't think was a bad idea, I was quoted £120 to have the roof completely repainted, I tried Wrap Kings which is a 2 minute walk from my house they quoted £160 to wrap the roof!! think I'll buy some off ebay and have a go myself - famous last words lol.

I do have one question regarding the gearbox oil change, I've had a look around the forum and from what I gather what you don't know about these Coupe's isn't worth knowing, but I've been doing some reading on the internet and I've read i should only use Honda's gearbox oil and not to use anything else if I want to prolong the life of the 'box, but on here Valvoline oil is highly recommended which I'm tempted to go with, would I be ok with the Valvoline?

Thanks in advance.

[Brett]

Welcome along ABZ

[abz2005]

Cheers brett

[hughezee]

A few years ago I would have agreed with you regarding the Honda fluids, however the current generation fluid DW1 appears was put into circulation prior to the actual gearboxes it was intended for, namely the 9 speed ZF transmission DW1 can still work wonders on the old 4-5 speed neglected auto gearbox However I wouldn't recommend leaving it in there too long as it causes the torque converter lock-up problems e.g if you've done a couple of part changes making it the majority fluid, basically its to thin be the majority fluid.  ATF thickens with age and looses it lubrication ability as well so jumping in 10 year old low mileage Honda, will likely see the transmission fluid turn nasty very quickly.  So doing a part change with DW1 in the first instance will dilute the old fluid and restore operation and you think nothing of it until you start noticing your mpg dropping and gear changes get jerky. I if you haven't already read the ATF topics feel free to have browse at the linked below

 

 

[BN Coupe]

Welcome Abz.  Sounds like you got yourself a bargain.  A HAC that is basically sound makes excellent bangernomic sense.  Hughezee, Laird Scooby and others on here know everything there is to know about maintaining these cars, so you've come to the right place.

I bought my V6 cheap nearly a year ago, figuring that it was worth the risk, and I LOVE it.  So does my mechanic, who after driving it for the first time called it 'a cracking car'.  I've already spent on it what I bought it for, but then all cars need tyres, oil changes, brake discs/pads etc.  And I reckon it's got a good few years of life left in it.

Can't resist posting this pic, taken today.  The HAC looks a bit awkward from some angles but not this one, IMO.

[BN Coupe]

PS Stu, you can move this post to the Gallery but not until everyone has gone 'Ooh, aah...'

[hughezee]

1 hour ago, BN Coupe said:

PS Stu, you can move this post to the Gallery but not until everyone has gone 'Ooh, aah...'

Nothing wrong with leaving a bit of inspiration for other newbies to admire (Geoff does it all the time ) your Lexus & Accord coupe are a credit to you Andrew 

[Laird_Scooby]

Welcome aboard Abz! I think i saw your car on fleabay not so long back, reckon you got a bargain there! As someone who has a car that lived the majority of is life by the coast despite starting its life in or around Birmingham there are a few words of advice that are well worth taking - get several large cans of WD40 or similar or even one of the big 5L cans and a spray attachment for it, get under the car and spray every single nut, bolt, thread etc that you can see! In fact, cover the brake discs with plastic bags and just spray everything underneath the car! Seriously! Bought my 827 coupé (Legend coupé in disguise) from Bristol and it had previously lived near Swansea and most of the fasteners etc were corroded. I've gone through umpteen cans of WD since i've owned it, if i had sprayed the underneath when i got it i reckon i'd only have used a few cans!

Other than that there's no reason with a bit of TLC that your car shouldn't last a long time for you. Reckon the ATF part change has to be one of your first jobs though. I'd go for Carlube ATF-U  to do 2 or 3 part-changes a month or so apart then if you're happy with that fluid, leave it in. Others have found Valvoline MaxLife a better ATF for theirs but it is a dearer fluid - the beauty of the ATF-U is it's reasonably cost effective to do several part-changes in succession and is itself a good fluid. This is the stuff i mean :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121672612222?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I think Stu sells it in the site shop so you can buy one can at a time but not sure on price - like most oils the price goes up and down with world oil price fluctuations and the stuff on ebay is probably older stock that they're selling cheap to move it out of the stock room. Not that there will be anything wrong with it as long as the containers are sealed of course.

[BN Coupe]

your Lexus & Accord coupe are a credit to you Andrew

Thanks Stu, but really all I do is have them serviced/maintained mechanically and wash & clean regularly.  The latter is particularly important (to me) because they're dark green and show dust and dirt very quickly - another reason why I would have preferred silver.  But with cars this old and rare, you can't be that picky.  Values for both seem to have bottomed out and risen a bit.  And have you noticed that 98 onwards Legends are more expensive than they used to be?

[Mazda Man]

Welcome welcome welcome Abz.  I too live in the Midlands, not far from Sutton and it's about time we had another coupe owner from the Midlands and I was getting lonely!  Anyway, you're definitely in the best place for all things relating the USA made Accord Coupe.  I've had 2 coupes so far, my first was the same as yours, the 2.0 ES in blue which was great, my current coupe is the 3.0 V6 in the same colour as yours, I think it's called Dark Currant Pearl Metallic.

Have a good look around the site and ask as many questions as you want, we all own coupes (and other Honda engined motors i.e Legend, Sterling etc).  Like you, driving mine every day is something to look forward too.  There are around 300 V6's left on the road and your model is even rarer.....it's nice to drive something unusual instead of the mainstream and as you expect, our Honda's are absolutely bulletproof and will easily do 200K miles.  Mine has just done 100K.

Please do take onboard the advise (especially from Stu (Hughzee) and Dave (Laird_Scooby) regarding ATF fluid, oil, etc as the wrong ATF will kill your car stone dead.  Don't start flushing gallons of fluid through, please read the threads.  It would be nice to perhaps meet up one day and compare cars.  Oh and we love pictures on here so post up as many as you can so we can all admire your coupe (use Photobucket).  You're going to love your coupe as we all do. 

Welcome again. 

 

 

[Laird_Scooby]

Geoff - you forgot something! Bostin as you say there!

[abz2005]

Hi guys thanks for the warm welcome and advice.

 

I've made my first error in trying to make my coupe look better I bought some alloys today, I didn't want to spend too much as the car didn't cost alot but I wish I hadn't bought them now they're 16" Lensos I fitted one when I got back but because they have low profile tyres fitted they look smaller than the standard 15" Alloys.....doh. Damn these 4x114.3 pcd's.

Off to ebay they go.

I must say though the drive to worksop to collect them was an absolute pleasure, I always found the m42/a42 stretch a drag but today it just flew by, cruise control on a steady 70-75 absolute effortless and feeling as fresh as a daisy when I got back.

So ATF change a must will be doing it tomorrow or Monday and may do a engine oil and filter change too while I'm there.

Something I noticed on ebay earlier another accord coupe in purple but 3.0 spares or repairs non runner seller says due to standing for quite a while so battery is flat 2 days to go, bids when I last looked £70!!!! Has had the auto box replaced 5 years ago, only problem is she's in Canterbury, I was going to buy it for spares but it is a fair jaunt to get it.

 

Anyway thanks again for your replies guys, I might just put the other 3 alloys on and take some pics tomorrow watch this space 

 

[Laird_Scooby]

Got any pics of the wheels Abz? Also what size tyres are on them? Also are they definitely 4 x 114.3?

[abz2005]

Hi Laird

Tyres are 195/45/16 so low profile they definitely have the 4x114.3 took my vernier with me to double check lol. Pics as follows

 

 

[Laird_Scooby]

Nice wheels Abz - unless i'm having a dopey moment then they should have 205/55/16s to get the correct rolling radius on them to match what the OE 195/65/15s are.

I am in fact looking for a set of wheels for one of mine but in all honesty they wouldn't suit it or at least the theme i'm going for on it. Shame as they're really nice. Why not get a set of the correct size tyres and fit them on your coupé?

[AhsyV6]

Welcome Abz, 

all I'll say is that you will not regret it and as you've already found this is a lovely car to drive......god help you when you experience the 3.0 Coupe!!!! 

Just to reiterate the above....EVERYTHING you NEED to know about our coupe is on here and growing on a daily basis. Someone will always have an answer or solution for you. All factual and no guesswork on here. 

Tc 

[AhsyV6]

18 hours ago, BN Coupe said:

Welcome Abz.  Sounds like you got yourself a bargain.  A HAC that is basically sound makes excellent bangernomic sense.  Hughezee, Laird Scooby and others on here know everything there is to know about maintaining these cars, so you've come to the right place.

I bought my V6 cheap nearly a year ago, figuring that it was worth the risk, and I LOVE it.  So does my mechanic, who after driving it for the first time called it 'a cracking car'.  I've already spent on it what I bought it for, but then all cars need tyres, oil changes, brake discs/pads etc.  And I reckon it's got a good few years of life left in it.

Can't resist posting this pic, taken today.  The HAC looks a bit awkward from some angles but not this one, IMO.

Lovely angle mate and may I just say AGAIN.....lovely colour. 

I loved the way you described how "it looks a bit awkward from some angles"......I sooooo agree but I've always thought it looks ugly and dated from a couple of angles ( controversial) .

 

[BN Coupe]

I agree with you Ahsy.  But then most cars have their less attractive sides (like their owners).  

Some front three-quarter angles make the snout look too long and low (most modern cars have a much higher bonnet and waistline).  And some rear three-quarter angles make the boot look too high and dumpy.  Those, to me, are the ugly angles.  The trick in photographing the car (which most sellers don't seem to realise) is to minimise these by looking down from a distance.

When I took the pic yesterday I looked at the car for a while and thought, 'That's a timelessly elegant car.'  Then I looked at the brand new Smart next to it and realised, 'No it isn't.  It's got the looks and technology of 20 years ago.  Car design has moved on but I haven't.'  Not that I care.

[abz2005]

Thanks again guys I took a couple pics this morning I fitted 2 of the wheels on one side and standard on the other as you can see the Lensos look silly with those tyres as the profile looks wrong.

I love big engined cars so will definitely be keeping my eye out for a 3.0 as I said earlier there's one on ebay spares or repair I emailed him said he'd take 110 for it I'm almost tempted 

 

 

 

 

[BN Coupe]

Yes, they look far too small.  Pity - they're nice wheels.

[abz2005]

Here's the wheels I'd love but at £1600 they're a bit pricey, I think staggered dished alloys on the coupe would look fantastic 

 

 

 

 

[hughezee]

Shame about the wheels, but you have the body kit as well

[abz2005]

The body kit was one of the reasons I went for it.

Found a little problem, it's nothing major but I would rather everything be working as it should, the headlight washers, when I press the button I can hear a click from behind the dash but no water comes through the washer jets, the bottle is topped up and the windscreen washers work fine, I've checked the fuses and they seem ok, does anyone know what I can try next?